


Frozer: Alternate Ending

by Word_Devourer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is still oblivious but he's trying bless him, F/M, In a very small package but still that's a dangerous combination, Marinette is understandably a mess, Mutual Pining, Oh god I think I just crossed, This is much more fic than I meant to write, Tikki is living the dream, hurt comfort, no regrets, quite a bit of crying, with
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-05 04:11:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16360538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Word_Devourer/pseuds/Word_Devourer
Summary: In which Marinette can't tell him Adrien that she likes him, but she can't bring herself to lie to him, either.At least, even if he doesn't know what's wrong, Adrien is willing to help her through things.





	1. Chapter 1

“…and we’ll name it-

“Marinette?”  She seemed to have forgotten why she’d stopped him.

 _Marinette?_   _What was he-_ She straightened up, suddenly back in the present.  Right.  Right.  She hadn’t said anything.

“You okay, Marinette?”  This wasn’t like her.  Usually, she was confident, and driven, not… Not like this, even when she stammered around him, it wasn’t _this_ bad.

She’d stopped him, made him get out of his car, and if she didn’t say something soon, she was going to convince him that she was crazy for _sure_.

“I just-“ she started, and stopped.

_Tell him the truth.  Explain how you feel._

How was she supposed to do that?  Just, say something like that? Hope for the best?

No, better for her to just brush it off, suggest they go ice-skating more often, or something.

“I-“ he was right _there_ , right in front of her, waiting for something. This would have been easier, she thought, if the look in his eyes wasn’t so _concerned._

_‘Is there something you wanted to tell me?’  Yes.  Of course there was, but she hadn’t said it._

“I,” she said, and swayed dangerously backwards.

“Woah!” he said, stepping forward, putting a hand on her shoulder.  Something was clearly wrong.

She stood there, barely seeing, two different sentences trying to fight their ways out of her throat.

“Okay,” he said, “I think you might want to sit down.”  He looked back to his driver.  “I’ll be there in a bit, alright?”  Or maybe a longer than a bit, but he had to make sure she was okay, no matter _how_ long it took.

 “Okay, easy now,” he said, his hand slipping gently around her shoulders.  There was a light pressure on her back as he guided her to a nearby bench.

Her face felt like it was burning.  She couldn’t breathe, even though her mouth was hung slightly open.  She barely felt her back hit the bench.

“Marinette?” he said, and she turned to look at him.

She seemed… Scared?  Why?  Was she scared of him?  He didn’t want to believe that.  Maybe sick, but what had-

“You said you were okay earlier,” he said, the concern now so obvious that it _hurt_ to see, “are you sure?”

She stared at him, and the silence stretched out.  She took a shaky breath, and blinked heavily.

Adrien hadn’t felt anything that quite compared to seeing her cry; it was like a pull in his stomach, enough to almost knock the wind out of him.  She was so careful to not make a sound, and for a second, if he hadn’t seen her face, he wouldn’t have known that anything was wrong.  And then she crumpled in on herself, bent almost double, her head only above her knees because her hands had caught it.

Mentally, he struggled; what was supposed to happen when someone was with you while you cried?  It seemed like the kind of thing a good friend would help with, but he hadn’t _had_ any, so he had no examples to-  He took a breath, and tried to forget the panic.

“Marinette?” he said.

No response.

He carefully put a hand on her back.  “Hey, are you… are you going to be okay?”

Still, no response.

He took another breath, and with every ounce of certainty he could muster, said, “You’re _going_ to be okay.”

Okay, okay, so, now, he… He had to…  He carefully slipped his arm the rest of the way around her, and pulled her closer.

She let out her first audible sob, and heard him gasp, and try to pull away.

She wasn’t sure what she would have said if she’d been able to.  She grabbed on to his shirt, and hoped he understood.

He hesitantly put his arm back around her, and waited for the storm to pass.

She wanted to say something, to just explain _why_ she was crying into his chest for no reason, but all she could think was that his shirt was going to be a _mess_ after this, and she was so sorry that he was going to have to actually spend time in public with a shirt in tears and _worse_ , and if the paparazzi saw him and started taking pictures, she’d put him on the front of every tabloid, when he already had so much less privacy than he deserved, she’d be forced to-

Eventually, after a few minutes, she took a shuddering breath, and carefully began breathing evenly again.

“I’m sorry,” she said, voice thick.

“For what?”

“For… That.”

“It’s alright.  Do you feel better now?”

“A bit.”

“What was wrong?”

“It’s not…” she sighed.  “Do you ever feel like you’re trapped in a loop?”

He closed his eyes, and nodded.  “Yeah.”

“Then… Can I ask for some help?”

“Of course.”

“It’s…  It’s a bit awkward, because, it’s about a boy.”

“Oh! Oh.  Okay.  Someone special?” he said.

She laughed, shakily, “Of course.”

“Luka?”

She laughed, her head collapsing back against his chest.  “No.  That’s part of the problem.  I like Luka.  A lot.  But…  It’s not about him.”

Eventually, she continued, “It’s just, I’ve had a crush on this boy for a long time, since the beginning of the year, and I…  I haven’t told him.”

“Why?”

“I…  I don’t know.  I keep wanting to say something, but every time I do, I can’t get the words out, even though it hurts to keep them in.  I can’t just say,” she paused, and then “‘I love you.’”  At that, the remaining tension dropped out of her body.

“So,” she continued, eventually, “do you know how?”

“How to say ‘I love you?’” he said.  And what was he supposed to say to that?  He chose the only option that seemed reasonable.  He swallowed, and said, with his best attempt at levity, “S-sure!  It’s easy, you just… Just,” he’d started, and if he stopped now, he’d make it awkward; well, more awkward.  “You just say ‘I love you!’  And, if you’re feeling like making it personal, you might say…”  It had sounded lighter in his head, but the words came out more earnest than he’d meant them to.  “I love you, Marinette.”

“And…  I would respond with…” she paused.  “With ‘I love you too, Adrien.’”

Adrien tried to ignore the sensation in his stomach as she said it.

“Exactly!” he said, with false cheer.

She pulled away, and it felt like part of him went with her.  She wiped her face off.

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a watery smile.  “Maybe I’ll tell him for real, some time.”

Adrien gave his best return smile, years of modeling coming in handy, for once.  Fake expressions were part of the job description.

“I’ve taken up too much of your time,” she said, “you should probably go home.”

Adrien looked up to where his bodyguard was staring stoically at the two of them.

“Yeah,” he said, getting up to leave.  He tried to walk away, but he couldn’t stop himself from turning.  “And, Marinette?”

“What?”

“Whoever this boy is, he’d be a fool to turn you down.”

She seemed shocked, but then giggled, with a smile he thought was genuinely happy.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

And this time, when he turned to leave, he made it into the car.

He took a deep breath as he sat down.

This was… A problem.  Plagg had been right, and he couldn’t ask Marinette for help, this time.

After all, how was he supposed to ask a girl he had a crush on for advice, about _herself?_ It didn’t even seem possible.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette almost feels good. Adrien gets some better help.

Marinette sat down on her bed, defeated, but she’d already cried all she needed to.  She felt, almost normal.

She leaned back against the wall.

“Marinette?  Are you alright?”

She sighed. “No.  I don’t know what I was thinking, Tikki.  If I wanted him to like me, crying all over his shirt wasn’t a good way to do it.  Not to mention,” she grimaced, “he’s got to think for sure that I like someone else.  And, even if he didn’t, he _just_ went on a date with Kagami.”

“Marinette,” said Tikki, a bit more seriously than usual, “That’s not what I saw.  I don’t think he was angry, I think the only thing upsetting him was that you were hurt.  He cared enough about you to make his driver wait for him, just so he could make sure you were okay!  That sounds kind of _romantic_ , to me.  If nothing else, it’s obvious he cares about you, a _lot!_ ”

Marinette looked down at her, and then raised her eyebrows.  She laughed gently.  “Thanks, Tikki.”

Something seemed to occur to her, and her head slumped back against the wall, “I got so _close_.  I said it, out loud, to him!  And it didn’t even count.  It’s worse than forgetting when it’s a daydream.”

“Maybe it hurts more because it was so much closer to really telling him!”

“It _was_ closer, wasn’t it.”

“Mhm.  I think this was a good step forward.”

“Alright.  Alright.” She looked down and sighed.  “I should probably change my shirt.”

Tikki breathed in, and then nodded.

“And, probably, tell Alya about what happened.”  She contemplated.  “Actually, maybe I should do that tomorrow.  I’ve had enough for today.”

\--

“Alright, Plagg,” said Adrien, pulling on a new shirt, “I need help.”

“And you’ve come to an ancient destroyer of worlds with a love for cheese.  Good plan.”

“I’m serious, Plagg, you were the one who said I had a crush on Marinette, and…” he hesitated, before plowing on, “and you were right.”

“I’m serious too!  Cheese is simple!  That’s part of why I like it!  You don’t talk to cheese, you just-“ he demonstrated.

“Alright, but who else am I supposed to talk to about this?  I already had enough trouble finding someone to talk to about Kagami, and now the only person I could find…” he trailed off.

“Is your new flame?” said Plagg with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Adrien scoffed, buttoning up his outer shirt.  “C’mon, Plagg, it’s not like that.  It’s… It’s more like, I need her to be okay, and…  and when she said ‘I love you,’” he gave a pained smile, “even if it wasn’t really to me, it’s… I need to hear it again.”

He sat down, “and I know enough about my love-life to know… It doesn’t work out that well when I do things alone.”

“Right, about that…!” said Plagg, “what about Ladybug?  I thought she was your whole…” he waved a hand, vaguely, “thing.”

Adrien bent forward, head in his hands.  “I know.  I mean, I don’t know.  That’s part of the problem.  I don’t know if…  They’re so much alike.”

“I think you humans call that ‘having a _type_.’” said Plagg.

“And for me, it’s the driven girls who don’t let anyone get in their way,” finished Adrien.

_“Although,” muttered the Plagg, low enough Adrien couldn’t hear him, “from how quickly you left Kagami, I think it might just be her.”_

“What?”

“What?” said Plagg, “I was just thinking, I know just the person to talk to about this kind of thing.  Trust me, she’ll sympathize with you.  The two of you remind me of each other.  More than I like, now that I think about it.”

“She?”

“Oh yeah, she _loves_ this kind of sappy stuff.”

“Oh.  Who is she?”

“Eh, I’ll just go get her,” said Plagg, suddenly out the window.

“Wait, Plagg, what if Hawkmoth…” began Adrien, but he was already gone.

\--

Marinette had recovered somewhat, and was busying herself with some sewing.  It was calm, and mostly mindless, so she could get lost in seams and watching an old project she’d almost forgotten about come together.

She sat up suddenly, at a sound she couldn’t quite place.  It was like, a swish in the air.  It had come from behind her.

She turned, and heard something.  A pause, and then nothing.  She was just about to call out, when-

“Tikki?  This is Ladybug’s room, right?”

Alright, this was hero business, and _somebody_ knew where she lived.  She couldn’t transform, if only because Tikki didn’t seem to be close enough, but she _could_ grab the seam ripper, and, well, if nothing else, it was pointy.

“Who’s there?”

A small, black figure flitted out of some corner.

“Oh right, I forgot, I could just ask you!”

“You!  You’re Chat Noir’s kwami!”

He bowed low in midair, and said, in an unnecessarily oily voice, “Plagg, at your service.”

“Plagg, right.  What are you doing here?  Is Chat Noir okay?”

“Eh, not villain problems.  I’m here to talk to Tikki.”

“Oh!  Well,” said Marinette, reaching over to the window, “she’s right here,” she pulled open the window.  “She was just outside smelling some flowers.  You’ve got a visitor, Tikki.”

Tikki floated up.

“Plagg?”

“Yup!  Got a little problem I thought you’d enjoy helping with?”

“What did you do this time?” she said with a wry grin.

“It’s not my fault, I swear!” he said, “Aaa… good friend of mine could use some advice.  The kind of advice you like giving.”

“Chat Noir?” asked Marinette.

“Yeah, you’d be surprised how few people he can talk to.”

“Do you mind, Marinette?”

“I guess not,” she said, “just hurry back, alright?  We don’t want another Sandboy.”

“Of course!  I’ll be as quick as possible.”

\--

“So,” said Tikki, “what’s wrong?”

Plagg groaned.  “He’s an idiot, is what’s wrong.”

“Come on, Plagg, if you’re just going to be mean…”

“Look, I’m getting your help because _I_ don’t want to deal with this.  Trust me, even _you’re_ going to love the irony here.”

\--

An almost uncomfortable amount of time had passed when he heard Plagg fly through the open window.  He turned and saw that he had what looked like another Kwami with him.  Red, with black spots.

 “Hello!” she said, in a cheery voice.  “I’m Tikki.”

“You must be Ladybug’s kwami!” he said.

“Mhm!”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Aw, thanks!” she said, and then to Plagg, “He’s very polite.”

“Years of practice,” said Adrien.

“Alright,” said Plagg, “I’m going to get some more cheese.  You two do whatever it is you need to.”

They watched him go.  “This was _your idea_ , Plagg,” said Adrien.

“Yeah, my idea to get you someone you could talk to.  The second part of my plan was to sit over here so I didn’t have to listen to your sickeningly sweet whatever.”

He didn’t seem to be coming back.

“Has he always been like that?” asked Adrien.

Tikki nodded.  “He likes to pretend he doesn’t care about things, even when he does.  If he went to get me, he thought there was a good reason for it.”

“Well,” said Adrien, “It’s about… Something happened earlier, and I’m… Confused, and worried, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh no!  Is everything alright?”

“I mean, I think I… I think I have a crush?  Not like the one on Ladybug, but… That’s why I need help, from someone who actually…” he struggled.  “From someone who admits they have feelings, I guess.”

He’d have sworn he saw an excited gleam in her eyes for a second, and then, suddenly, she just seemed earnestly concerned.  “I’m all ears!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to follow...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette tries to do damage control, and it goes... Poorly.  
> Adrien realizes his mistake.

Tikki had come back, settling Marinette’s mind back down.  For a bit, she almost forgot why she’d been unhappy in the first place.

“So,” she said, “what did Chat Noir need help with?”

“I’m sorry, Marinette, I don’t think I can tell you.”

“Something about his civilian identity?”

“And very personal.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude on either of those…  So… Do you think you managed to fix whatever was wrong?”

“Oh, it wasn’t something I could fix.  I just gave him the best advice I knew how to!”

Marinette smiled.  That was Tikki, alright.

For Marinette, things were quiet for the rest of the night.

…

It was the next day, and Marinette was dreading school.  That wasn’t anything particularly strange.  Certainly, after the incident with Troublemaker, she’d been terrified, but this time, it was much more personal.  Nobody knew anything was off except her, and, the dangerous part, _Adrien._

The problem was, there was no way that Adrien didn’t know about her _major_ crush, and didn’t know who it was on.

…Which meant, being the concerned friend he was, there was a significant chance of him asking around, probably _Alya_ , who would- what would Alya even do!?  Nino?  Nino knew too, and Adrien would find it even easier to ask _him!_   Honestly, _any_ of the girls in class would know, even if they would probably feign ignorance… Except maybe Rose, but that was just her personality.

It would be _so easy_ for him to find out, and _not_ the way she wanted him to.

Which mean, for all the terror it caused her, for all it made her sick enough to her stomach to call off, she _needed_ to go to school, to do damage control.

And so, for all it put her stomach in knots, for all sitting in her seat before class even started was giving her anxiety, she was waiting.  Waiting for whatever was going to happen.

\--

The thought of seeing Marinette again _hurt_.  The idea that he’d only realized he liked her when she’d told him she liked someone else felt like a dagger to the heart.

But he had to go to school, for two reasons.  First, he couldn’t avoid her, because he was her friend, and _friends_ didn’t try to help you out of a rough emotional spot and then _ditch_ you the next day.  Second, he couldn’t avoid her, because he couldn’t bring himself to.  For all it hurt, he _needed_ to see her again, even if it meant hearing about this mystery boy who was the root of his pain.  He would, curse him, support her with this mystery boy if it killed him (Which, he thought, it might).

He’d known it already, on some level, but… He’d probably have to give Plagg an extra wedge of cheese, because he’d been right.  Tikki had been, frankly, incredibly comforting.  She hadn’t said much, but she’d _listened_ , and explaining things to her had made him understand them better.

And so, standing tall, taller than he felt, with his carefully constructed smile on his face, he walked into class.

“Morning,” said Nino.

“Good morning, Nino.” He looked to the next row up, “Alya.” And tried not to let his smile falter, and _especially_ not to hesitate longer than he already had, “Marinette.”

“Hi,” she said, in a small voice, as he sat.

 _No, no, she’d told him a secret,_ trusted _him, and he was letting it look like he was treating her differently because of it._

He sat down, and breathed, carefully, steadily, trying to not tense up his neck.

He didn’t see Nino’s slightly confused look, as he stared seemingly vacantly towards the front of the class.

\--

‘ _Is it just me, or is Adrien acting weird today?’_ Slide.

 _‘What do you mean?’_ Slide.

 _‘He hesitated when he said hi to you’_ Slide.

 _‘Something happened yesterday.  Maybe that?’_ Slide.

 _‘During the X2 date?  Spill_.’ Slide.

 _‘Later.’_ Slide.

Alya shrugged and folded up their de facto message board.  Marinette would explain when she was ready.  Or, if not when she was ready, and Alya smiled at the thought, whenever she could corner her for about five minutes.

\--

Marinette didn’t like the evil grin that Alya had made into thin air, and resolved, then and there, to tell her before she found out some other way.

…

By the end of the day, the curious glances Alya had been giving her had _almost_ convinced her to explain through notes, but finally, _finally_ , the day was over, and she could sit back, knowing she’d basically made it.  All she had to do was make it about 2 more minutes, as the four of them went quickly over what had happened today, (A security measure after Adrien and Marinette had fallen asleep in class one time too often).

Nino stood up, “Sorry guys, can’t stick around, gotta get home, make sure my little brother doesn’t destroy things while my folks are out.”

“Alright, we’re still good for 7, right?” said Alya.

“For sure!  They’ll be back by then.”

“Alright,” said Alya, grinning, “Talk to you… Later.”

Nino laughed.  “Later.”  He walked out.

“Well,” said Alya, “I think that’s everything.  All I’ve got left on my agenda is to talk to Marinette about something.”

“Oh!” said Adrien, standing, “Sorry.  I’ll get out of your way then.”

“No problem,” said Alya, “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Alya,” said Adrien, “Goodbye Marinette,” and, as he backed out of the room, “remember, _I love you,_ ” with an oversized wink.

Dead silence, and then he hit the doorframe and staggered on his way out.

“Love you too!” squeaked Marinette, as he walked quickly away.

She stared, mortified after him, mouth open, her expression frozen as if she was about to scream.

Her first reminder that reality existed was a gentle pressure on her shoulder, as Alya shook her gently…  “Girl?” Well, moderately… “Giiiii-“ Well…

Marinette fell out of her seat from the sheer violence of Alya’s shaking, and let out another high-pitched yelp as she hit the ground.

“What was that!?!?” said Alya, face a terror to behold.  It was awe, shock, glee, and laughter rolled into a single expression.

“Alya!” said Marinette, “It was-

“Did he just say he _loved_ you!?” Alya was on the ground with her, now, a hand on either shoulder, shaking her hard enough she couldn’t see straight.  “Girl, do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for _one of you_ to do something, and he just leads off with-“ she cut off, “Wait!  What happened yesterday?  What _happened!?”_

 _“Alya!”_ Marinette managed, “It’s not what it looks like!”

The shaking stopped, and Marinette’s eyes focused on Alya’s disbelieving face.  “What?  How else do you get ‘I love you?’  Don’t tell me he confessed and you didn’t believe him, because I _swear_ , if you think he was joking, I’m going to-“

“No!  It’s not!  It wasn’t.” Marinette sighed.  “He knows I have a crush.  He just, doesn’t know it’s on him.  You remember how he asked me for relationship help?”

“Yeah?”

“I, kind of, asked him for some.  I, um… I asked him how to say ‘I love you’ to someone you have a crush on.  So, he, um… Demonstrated.”

Alya’s face, already uncomfortably close, came a bit closer, eyes squinting slightly as she mouthed something to herself

“Marinette,” she said, seriously, “when you say ‘demonstrated,’ do you mean-

“I mean he told me he loved me, to show me how easy it was!  And then, I did it back.”

Alya didn’t respond, and then her whole body leaned back, as if she was going to scream at the sky.  All that came out was, “You’re going to be the _death_ of me!”

“So, now, I think he’s trying to encourage me to tell my crush that I love them, by reminding me of how easy it is.”

Alya rubbed at her eyes.  “You two are going to _kill_ me.  You are literally _telling_ each other that you love each other, and you’re _still_ not together.”

“How do you think _I_ feel?  I’m the one who’s got to _live_ it!  At least Adrien doesn’t have to deal with hearing someone say they love him, but not meaning it!”

\--

Adrien was doing his best to deal with the fact that she’d _said_ she loved him but didn’t mean it.  It felt like his heart had ended up in heaven and found out it was full of fire.

She’d _said_ it.  _Again_.  And it had felt just like yesterday, which meant, unfortunately, that he had no idea what to do about it.

Then again, she’d _responded._ As in, she’d said it back.  She’d said it faintly, as he was leaving, but she’d said it, so…  He sighed.  She’d sounded uncomfortable, if he thought about it.  No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t do this if she didn’t want him to.  He _couldn’t_.

Okay.  Okay, he could… He could make sure.  He had her number.  All he had to do was call her, and make sure.  It would be easy!  Anyone would want to make sure they weren’t making their friend uncomfortable.

He was in his car, now.  All he would have to do was wait until later, when she’d be done talking to Alya, and _hope,_ that maybe she didn’t mind too much.

No, she minded, didn’t she.  He grimaced.  This would be damage control at this point, what was he saying?

It was okay, he’d just have to try to forget, and move on.

Except… He already knew, from Ladybug, that he didn’t do that easily.  At all.

This was going to hurt.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to do damage control.

Adrien was in his room.  The time was…  6:45. He couldn’t doubt that Marinette was done talking to Alya, _had been done_ , for hours.  And yet… He hadn’t followed up on his plans yet.  Of course, he’d had piano lessons, and then he’d procrastinated by, of all things, doing his homework early, but now… If he wanted to avoid doing irreparable damage to his relationship with Marinette, he’d have to act soon.

_Alright, Agreste, remember, you aren’t just any schoolkid.  You’ve fought monsters that threatened all of Paris.  Compared to that, why should you be scared of Marinette?_

Because she could tear his heart to shreds _by accident_ , came the unbidden, and worryingly accurate, answer.

Well.  Nothing for it.  She could tear his heart apart, but it wasn’t like never talking to her again would help him either.

He took a deep breath.

\--

One new message from, her heart tried to sink and rise simultaneously, Adrien Agreste.

She hesitated, but, really, what choice did she have?  She opened it.

\--

_AAgreste:  Hey, Marinette, I’m not interrupting anything, right?_

Marinette:  Nope.  I was just procrastinating on my homework.

_AAgreste: Great!_

_AAgreste: I mean, not really great._

_AAgreste: You know what I mean._

_AAgreste: I just wanted to talk to you._

~~Marinette: I’m so happy to hear that~~

~~Marinette: I want to talk to you too.~~

~~Marinette: I wanted to tell you that I love you for real~~

Marinette: About what?

_~~AAgreste: I’ve meant it every time I’ve told you I love you~~ _

_AAgreste: I just realized_

_~~AAgreste: you mean so much-~~ _

_AAgreste: That I didn’t really make it clear what I meant when I said ‘I love you’_

~~Marinette: Neither did I~~

~~Marinette: I wish I had then~~

Marinette: Haha lol I was reading it as moral support.

_~~AAgreste: It wasn’t~~ _

_~~AAgreste: what do you mean?~~ _

_AAgreste: lol, yup!_

_AAgreste: if I could say it to you, ~~who I don’t really love~~    ~~when you’re just a friend~~ then surely you could say it to him, right?_

~~Marinette: Right!~~

~~Marinette: I actually did say it to him.~~

~~Marinette: I wanted to say it to you.~~

Marinette:  Actually, I did say it to him.  


Adrien didn’t type for a second.  


_AAgreste: That’s great!_

_AAgreste: I’m so proud of you, Marinette_

_AAgreste: How did he take it?  
_

  
Marinette didn’t type for a second. _  
_

  
Marinette:  I don’t know.

_AAgreste: What do you mean? ~~If you’d said it to me~~_

Marinette: I don’t think ~~you~~ he knows how much I meant it.

_AAgreste: Like, he thought you were joking?_

Marinette: Not exactly.

~~Marinette: Why can’t you figure this out?~~

~~Marinette: Why can’t I tell you?~~

~~Marinette: It’s more like he thought I was practicing to say it to someone else when I wanted to say it to him.~~

Marinette: It’s hard to explain.

_AAgreste: Well, I’ll be glad to listen if you want to talk. ~~Even though it’ll hurt~~_

_AAgreste: But, actually, that was why I’m texting you._

~~Marinette: What!?~~

_AAgreste: Because I realized that even if I was saying it for ~~…~~ moral support, you didn’t know that._

_AAgreste: So it could have been really awkward._

_~~AAgreste: I meant it~~ _

_~~AAgreste: Please, don’t make me stop telling you I love you~~ _

_~~AAgreste: I’ll stop~~ _

_~~AAgreste: God, you’re amazing~~ _

_AAgreste: So, I was thinking ~~I’d stop now~~ I should make sure I wasn’t creeping you out too much._

~~Marinette: Please, don’t stop~~

~~Marinette: Of course!  It’s super awkward because we’re just friends and I can’t stop hoping-~~

Marinette: lol you’re fine.  Thanks for asking.

_~~AAgreste: That’s such a relief~~ _

_~~AAgreste: I’m so relieved to hear that~~ _

_~~AAgreste: you’re so much more than I deserve, even as just a friend~~ _

_AAgreste: That’s a relief.  I’d hate to have alienated one of my best friends._

Marinette: You’re so fine

_AAgreste: ?_

Marinette: Sorry, *you’re fine,

_AAgreste: Still stammer over text, huh? :P_

Marinette: Yeah, ~~I do that around people I have crushes on~~ It’s a curse haha :)

_AAgreste: Alright, thanks for letting me clear the air, Marinette._

Marinette: No problem! ~~I love you.~~   ~~I love you!~~ ~~I love you for real.~~

_AAgreste: ~~I love you~~    ~~It’s probably weird to say right now, but~~   ~~whoever that boy is, he’s a fool~~   Goodnight Marinette._

Marinette: Goodnight, Adrien

 

Minutes pass.  Neither can quite look away from their phones.  Finally, Adrien sighs, and goes to his bed, only to be interrupted by a single alert from his phone.

 

Marinette: BTW, I love you, ;P

 

Adrien can’t quite breathe.  Is this his life?  Did he seriously make it a joke to say ‘I love you’ to each other.  It’s not funny, but he can’t quite stop an agonized smile as he taps his reply.

Marinette looks up from where she collapsed after hitting send, hearing the buzz of her phone.

A hand, shaky from the effort of hitting send, slaps out, and she grabs her phone.

 

_AAgreste: You too <3_

 

Neither knows that the other one does, but they both finally fall asleep clutching their phone tight to their chest, in a hazy point between joy and tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever heard of a song called Dear McCracken? I kept remembering it while writing this chapter.  
> I didn't come up with this chapter while listening to it, but for real, listen to this thing.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWGolv2iqM0


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette can't quite seem to... Well, you'll see.

Adrien was running out of options.  Plagg wasn’t much help.  He couldn’t ask to keep seeing Ladybug’s kwami, Tikki.  Marinette was entirely off-limits.

“Hey, Nino?”  So he had to make a gamble.

“’Sup, dude?” came the reply

He sighed.  “I need to talk to you about something, alright?”

“Sure!  What’s up?”

“Okay, cool, but, before that, I need to ask a favor, alright?”

“Okay?”

“I need you to not tell _anyone_ about this, alright?  _Nobody_.  Not even Alya.”

“Dude, seriously?  I tell her everything.”

“I know.  I know.  The problem is, I tell you everything, you tell her everything, she tells Marinette everything… And I need to talk about something about Marinette, and she _cannot_ hear about it.  So… I need you not to tell Alya.  If you have to, tell her it was something incredibly personal to me, that I made you swear not to tell anyone.  That’s the truth anyway!”

“Dude, I…” he heard a sigh on the other end.  “Alright.  Even if she asks, I won’t tell her.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Nino.”

“You’re just lucky we’re best friends.”

Adrien chuckled, “I sure am.”

“Alright, so what’s the story?”

And Adrien explained, everything he remembered… Well, he may have edited the bits with Plagg to be the voice in his head, but that was only a minor hesitation, and it was basically true anyway.

“So, that’s the problem,” he said, finally.

There was a long silence.  “So, you have a crush on Marinette, and you think she doesn’t have a crush on you?”

Adrien sighed, “Not think.  _Know._   Trust me, people don’t just talk about their crushes, _to their crush_.”

\--

Okay.  Okay.  So… Nino mentally flailed, searching for a path.  He knew, _knew_ , that Marinette had _had_ a crush on Adrien for a long time.  A _long_ time.  It didn’t seem likely that she’d suddenly switch to someone else, but then again, she’d gone out with Luka, and Alya hadn’t said too much about it recently, so technically… _And, and,_ Adrien said he ‘knew.’  For all the story hadn’t convinced Nino, he hadn’t been there himself, so maybe it had been different in person.

“Alright,” he said, finally, compromising, internally, “what if she _did_ , though?  I could poke around, if you-

“No!  No, Nino, listen, you’re great, and I would trust you with my life, but if you went and asked who Marinette had a crush on, it would be pretty obvious that the only people you could be asking for are me or you, and we all know it’s not you!”

It was true.

“What if I got someone else to do it?”

“Then _they’d_ know, and it’d still probably get back to Marinette, somehow.”

Alright, okay.  “I mean… That’s only a bad thing if she _doesn’t_ like you.”

“And I’m telling you, she doesn’t.  My position with her is on thin ice already.  I can’t risk it by bringing something like this into it.”

“Alright, so, what do you want me to do?”

“I just need someone I can talk to about this sometimes, and I don’t have any other options.”

“Alright man.  I’m here whenever you need me.  Always will be.”

“Thanks, Nino.”

He sat there, as Adrien hung up.

He put a hand to his face.

He was almost certain Marinette still had a crush on Adrien.  _Almost_.  The problem was, almost didn’t cut it with a promise like this.  Adrien had said not to ask, and, he was right, it would trace back, _especially_ with Alya, who could read him impossibly well.

His only hope was that whatever they were doing would make things clear, sooner or later, for both of them.  In the meantime, he was stuck.

\--

After everything else, Alya had been reluctant to keep Marinette’s _real_ feelings a secret, at least from Nino, but being best friends had to mean _something,_ and what it meant right now was one secret.

Alya clearly wasn’t buying that Adrien wasn’t into her, but she hadn’t _been_ there, and she’d agreed to trust Marinette on this one.

\--

Nobody was comfortable the next day.  Alya and Nino had their secrets, and Adrien and Marinette had the peculiarly pleasant agony of each other’s presence.

As such, for reasons that none of them _fully_ comprehended, the first half of the day passed in awkward silence.  Salvation came at lunch, where Alya bet Nino that he couldn’t eat his sandwich in two bites.  Surprising her, and probably Nino, she _lost_ that bet, and some of their conversation returned in the ensuing laughter.  Better, Alya managed to suggest they take a walk after school to dispel whatever funk had fallen over them, prompting a discrete but intense glare from Marinette.

\--

Which is how they’d ended up at the park by Marinette’s house, taking a few quick loops in the warm air.  It was a gorgeous day, the only clouds in the sky purely decorative.

For a while, they were all walking together, a full group of four, but eventually, with nobody but Alya noticing, she and Nino were behind, locked in conversation.  3 feet, 5 feet, 10 feet, 20…  Perfect.

When they were far enough back, finally conceded an untenable point she’d been holding onto to distract him.

“Haha!  Aw sweet, I actually…” he paused.  “Wait a second, you never admit you’re wrong, what’s-“ he followed her gaze forward to Marinette and Adrien.  “Oh.  Gotcha, but you could’ve just said.”

“Yeah, I know.  I just didn’t want to make it _too_ obvious.”

They stared forward, watching their respective best friends.

Marinette giggled lightly at something Adrien had said, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.  When the hand came back down, it was hanging loosely, mere inches from Adrien’s.  It was enough to make Alya beg for some kind of psychic power to… She’d never been one for Hawkmoth, but if she could get a guarantee that… Nevermind.

“This is so sad,” she said aloud.

“Yup.  _This close_ , and still not… Together.”

They walked on for a second, and Alya’s brow furrowed.

Then, she said, “They’ve been that close before.”

A faintly uncomfortable silence from Nino that told her all she needed to know.

“Oh my god,” she said, stopping dead, “are you serious?”

“Am I what?  About what?”

“He really _does_ have a crush on Marinette!”

The look of alarm on Nino’s face was intensely gratifying.

“He _does!”_

“Wha- how did you-“

“Neither of us told you about what happened, honestly, I’m still not supposed to, but _you already know,_ which means Adrien told you about it, and something about what he said made you think that getting that close was sad.  _And,_ he didn’t want you to tell me, which means…  Which means, he didn’t want Marinette to know, which only makes sense if he has a crush on Marinette.”

The look on his face was horrified.  “You’re the most terrifying person I’ve ever met.”

She grinned.  “That’s my job.  Am I wrong?”

He looked forward at the two of them.

“Umm…”

“Nino, the only reason I’d doubt myself is because you _know_ Marinette has a crush back on him.  Am I wrong.”

He looked up sharply.  “She does?”

Alya’s mouth fell open.

“I mean,” he hastily explained, “I know she did, for a long time, but she just went out with Luka, and I didn’t hear about it, so I thought maybe…”

Alya huffed. “Alright.  I guess, but yes, she does.”

Nino sighed, clearly relieved.  “Okay.  I thought, but Adrien made me promise not to ask about it, so I didn’t.”

“It’s alright,” she said, with a genuine smile.  Then, she glanced back at their friends.  They were holding hands, barely.  “They’re _so_ in love with each other, and they don’t even _realize_.”

“Yeah.  You want to tell them?”

“Y’know what?  No.  Not like this.  If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it right.”

“Hey, Nino, Alya, what are you two doing back there?” called Adrien.

The tiniest pause. “Couple things.  What about you two?”

“Nothing!” said Marinette, in her best tone of exasperation, pulling her hand back.

Alya grinned.  “Alright, alright.”

…

They’d walked only a bit longer, which Alya was fine with, if only for the wellbeing of her friends.  It seemed that neither Adrien nor Marinette had packed their sunscreen and had consequently been burning red the whole time.

AlyaCesSo: You’re not helping anything by waiting.

_Marinette: Alya, I can’t do it._

_Marinette: I need to try to forget about him_

AlyaCesSo: You WHAT!?!?

_Marinette: He was talking about how he was going to ask out Kagami again._

There was a silence

AlyaCesSo: I need you to do not do anything for the next 20 minutes

AlyaCesSo: Whatever you do, DO NOT CALL ANYONE

_Marinette: What?  Why?_

AlyaCesSo: I need to make a call.

~~AlyaCesSo: DO NOT CALL LUKA!~~


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some devious plans to be put into action.

Marinette _had_ waited.  She’d waited 20 minutes, and then 10 more, for good measure.

But now…

_‘Don’t call anyone’_

Who was she even supposed to call?  She had a lot of friends, but not people she would just call out of the blue.

Like, Alya hadn’t gotten back to her.  She barely even talked to Nino, and Adrien?  If she’d had the courage to talk to him out of nowhere, she wouldn’t be in _this_ situation.

Hhhrhghmm.  She was supposed to be moving on.  Honestly, at this point, she should probably just talk to Luka, and apologize for what had happened at the ice-skating rink.  She really _did_ like him, so maybe if she…  She reached down and picked up her phone.

She almost dropped it when it suddenly buzzed.  ‘1 new message from AlyaCesSo’.  Finally.

 

_AlyaCesSo:  Alright.  If you’re going to try moving on, can I at least suggest a blind date?_

Marinette: ???

Marinette: I guess?

_AlyaCesSo: Perfect.  I found the perfect person._

Marinette: Did you just…

Marinette: Have someone lined up?

_AlyaCesSo: Kind of ;)_

Marinette: Can you tell me anything about him?

Marinette: It is a ‘him,’ right?

_AlyaCesSo: I can tell you it is a him._

_AlyaCesSo: Besides that?  You’ll just have to find out for yourself._

_AlyaCesSo: Of course, I’ve got to make sure he’s okay with the idea._

_AlyaCesSo: But he will be._

\--

Why did dealing with these two have to be like herding cats?  Nino had been as surprised as her, and after a quick text, said that Adrien was trying to move on by any means necessary.

Well.  They could try as hard as they liked to miss each other.  It wasn’t going to work.  Not while she was around.  And, while she was at it, while _Nino_ was around.  He wasn’t quite as driven on the subject as her, but even so, he seemed to be getting into the spirit of things.

These _idiots_ would learn.  They would learn whether they wanted to or not.

\--

It was days later.  Marinette had done her best to come to terms with the fact that she’d be going on a date.  She’d almost told Alya to call things off more times than she could count, but she’d fought it off.  She _had_ to move on, if not for her sake, for Adrien’s.  Before, she’d been able to imagine that _maybe,_ when she had a crush on him, he might respond, but now that he was planning a date with Kagami, (She’d even heard him mention an upcoming date) she couldn’t afford to be the friend who still had a crush on him.  She _couldn’t_.

And so, tonight, she was standing outside of a rather _fancy_ café, with a small packet of bills Alya had given her, ‘I’ll spot you this time.  After tonight, it’s up to you,’ and a very _specific_ set of directions.  Alya had carefully laid out the exact floorplan of the room, the window, what the landmarks outside the window looked like.  She’d made it, in short, _impossible_ for Marinette to sit down at the wrong table.  Marinette was intensely glad; it could be supremely awkward to try starting a date with someone she hadn’t meant to.

She’d asked Alya what she should wear, to which Alya had just said ‘You don’t need to dress up too much.  Actually, if you did, he’d probably keel over in awe.’  To that end, she’d managed a sort of… hybrid outfit, with a jacket on over her dress.  A nice jacket, but a jacket, nonetheless.

Okay.  Enough prep.  She had to go in now, or else be late.

She stepped into the café.

\--

He didn’t know where Nino had gotten the idea from.  He didn’t know who this ‘Blind date’ was, or why Nino had been so insistent that he try this _before_ going on another date with Kagami, but Nino had kept his secret, so it seemed only fair to return a favor.

Now, he was sitting in a booth by the window, menu, yes, in front of him, but nothing ordered yet.  He had done his best to make a good impression on whoever this blind date was, but he’d been forced to wear a hat low over his face.  It probably just made him look more suspicious, but if one fan with a camera showed up to him, dressed up, at a fancy café, there would be others, so for now, he had no choice.

With the hat so low, he could only see the tentative step of someone next to him, a flash of red from a skirt.

“H-hello?” she said, “Were you… Waiting for someone?  Because a friend said I should come here, and I just want to make sure.”

He let out an involuntary groan; not irritation, or boredom, more like the groan of an ache.  Ache was the right word for what Marinette’s nervous voice did to him.

“Um… If I have the wrong table…”

He looked up, her body a blur of red, and he could see her face.  Those _eyes_ , vibrant enough to kill him, tinted with a faint worry that could undo him in a heartbeat.

The immediate shock on her face felt like some part of him was missing, torn out.

No, no, he needed to explain, _now_ , or risk everything.

_“This wasn’t my idea.”_

_\--_

She had barely had time to register that it was really _him_ before he had already denied any involvement in this date.

“Oh,” she said, voice faint.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was going to be you, I was going into this blind.”

“No, it was the same for me, I had no idea.  If I had…”

He grasped for something _anything_ , to help.

“So, um… I guess Nino got you to agree to this somehow.”

She shook her head.  “Alya.”

“Ah.  That explains it.”

A silence, and then… “I mean… Do you want to sit down?  It’s got to be awkward just standing there, right?”

A nervous chuckle, and her face went red, “Right, right.  Sorry.”

“No!  No, it’s… It’s no problem.  I just…  I wanted you to be comfortable.”

She smiled, gently, and slid into the spot across from him.  “Thanks.”

There was a silence.

“So,” she said, hesitantly, “I guess Alya and Nino just arranged this whole thing, huh?”

Adrien nodded, slowly.  “Probably.  Nino seemed really insistent that I do this.”

“Yeah.  It was the same with Alya.”

“Guess they really want us to get together,” he said.

“Yeah…”

Marinette’s looked slowly down, as if lost in thought.  Then, she jolted upright.  “You know,” she said, “I know enough about Alya to know, she wouldn’t just send me, or, well,” she hesitated on the word, “ _Us,_ out here alone.  I bet she’s here somewhere.”

“Huh.  That does sound like her.  I’d bet she brought Nino, too.”

He pulled up his hat slightly, and tried to surreptitiously scan the other booths.

“Probably with a camera.”

\--

Adrien smiled, just the slightest bit devious.  “Got them.  Don’t look now, but there are two _very suspicious_ people behind one big newspaper back there.  Red hat on one, red hair on the other.

“We could,” she cursed herself for already starting something she didn’t want to say.  “go over and call them out?”

Adrien seemed to seriously consider it, pulling his hat back down until it was just high enough for her to see those green eyes in the shadow, oddly bright.

“We could do that,” he said, his voice strange.  “Oorr…  What if…”

He hesitated, and his smile seemed strange too, but suddenly, everything was normal again, and Adrien, with all the devilishness such a kind, friendly person could muster, said “…we turn it around on them?”

Marinette’s eyes widen.  “Turn it around on them?  Do you mean, like, doing the same thing to them?”

“No, I was just, thinking.  We could, maybe… they can’t hear what we’re saying.  If they want to, um… Prank us like this, we prank them back.”

Alright, this was doable.  Marinette could handle this.  No date, just a bit of fun messing with their best friends.

“What did you have in mind?”

“How about…” he said, and with an inordinately long pause, “…we make them think the date’s going really well.  Fake the whole date, and then reveal it when they pop out with the confetti.”

Marinette froze.

She gathered herself, and was about to respond, when-

“ _Hello_ , you two, what can we make for you tonight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Textbook cliched fanfiction trope? Yes.  
> Am I still doing it? Also yes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fake dating is a bad idea, when both parties want a real date.

They placed their orders, and he couldn’t quite breathe properly.  _She hadn’t responded._   _She hadn’t responded, and it had been almost 30 seconds._   He had no idea how he was supposed to enjoy coffee when he _already felt like throwing up_.

Finally, the waitress walked away, and they were left there, in a crushing silence.

“I…” said Adrien, “I didn’t know your tastes ran that sweet.”

“Baker’s daughter,” she said, with a giggle, “sorry.”

“Oh no, it-” Adrien stopped before the words ‘makes sense for someone as sweet as you,’ could leave his lips.  She hadn’t agreed to a fake date, so she _definitely_ hadn’t agreed to ‘fake’ flirting.

“Adrien?”

“Sorry, what was I saying?” he said, knowing the answer perfectly well.

“I don’t know,” she said.

\--

An awkward silence, as she fumbled for a way to accept his earlier offer.  It felt wrong to do it, and even worse to _want to_ , no, _need_ to, but he’d offered, and even though it would hurt, and even though it would be taking advantage, she _couldn’t_ say no.

“You really think they’ll believe us?” she asked, with a glance to near where he’d pointed out Nino and Alya.

“I think that depends on the quality of the acting,” he said, with a wink, “As I recall, you were pretty good that time we did a class movie.”

She laughed, trying to keep the blush from her face, “You were no slouch yourself…  So, did you, um, have something in mind?”

“Well, I’m not sure…  I don’t know how to make something look like a date rather than just, you know, two friends doing something.  I’ve only been on one date before.”

She laughed, “Me too.  I mean, unless you count the Evillustrator.”

“That was, I mean, I _gathered_ that that was more of an infiltration thing.  I don’t _think_ it counts?”

“No, me neither.”

A pause.

“I guess,” said Marinette, eventually, “that, technically, I’ve only ever been on a date with you.  I mean!” she hastily amended, “not just you because like Kagami and Luka were there but you were there too so technically it was a date… with you.”

\--

He laughed, trying to ignore the feeling of her needing to clarify that the date hadn’t _really_ been a date ‘ _with’_ him.

“Perfect,” he said, “we can fit that into the backstory…  Like, after the first date, I realized I had to see you again because I’d suddenly developed a crush on you.”

She laughed.  “Sure, and I…” she seemed to cast about, “and Alya kept trying to get us together because I’d had a crush on you since the beginning of the school year.”

“Perfect!” he said.

“So,” he said, trying to make it sound like he thought it was funny, “this is technically our second date.”

A nervous, “yeah.  I’m pretty surprised you showed up to the second one.  The first one went pretty poorly.”

“I mean, a villain attack kind of puts a damper on anything, but that’s not your fault.”

“And I _did_ kind of break down crying,” she said, “but, you were there to help.”

“It was nothing.”

“It _wasn’t_ nothing!” she said, “you made your driver wait!  You probably got home late, risked your father getting angry.”

He _had_ gotten a few raised eyebrows, but that had mostly been about his semi-deception of implying that he’d been going fencing when he had _actually_ been ice-skating.  “Marinette,” he said, and this time, he didn’t even need to fake anything, “I don’t care, okay?  You were in trouble.  Making sure you’re okay is _way_ more important than getting home five minutes earlier, or even, ten, twenty, I don’t care.  I just want you to be okay.”

She seemed to be tearing up slightly.  “Thanks, Adrien.”

\--

It felt like she was back at the beginning of the school-year again, and he’d just handed her his umbrella.  She’d loved him the whole year, probably, she’d never stop, even if she managed to get over him as a crush, and yet, she’d still been blindsided.  Falling in love with someone again, on a fake date, where he hadn’t even know it was going to be her.  Ladybug might be lucky, but Marinette?  Not so much.

 _Well_ , came the impulse, unbidden, _they were on a date right now, even if it was a fake date.  For tonight, at least, she could pretend.  After all, wouldn’t it make for a much more authentic performance for Alya and Nino if she really ‘got into character’?_

She hesitated.  She knew, deep down, that a ‘performance’ wasn’t why she wanted to do this.

It didn’t matter.  As long as she was on this date, she _had_ to.

\--

“So,” said Marinette, and with a glance back at Nino and Alya, a gentle lean forward, “Adrien, how’s your coffee?”

He was starting to regret this, starting to regret how pleasant it was to see her lean closer to him.  He couldn’t back out now, though; this had been _his_ idea.  His only refuge was to match her.

He leaned forward, slightly, and took a conspicuous sip from his cup.  “Delicious.  How about yours?”

She slowly matched him, bringing up her own cup for a drink.  She paused, and then, after a second, said, “As sweet as you; just the way I like it.”

He was dying.  He had to be dying, because there was no other explanation for that feeling in his stomach, and the way his head felt blurred.  And, the worst part, it had only been one line; he had _no_ sensible excuse for it to have affected him that strongly.

“You’re very good at this,” he managed to stammer out.

“I’ve been practicing?” she said, after a pause.

“Ah,” he said, finding some purchase for his mind, “for the same person you wanted to say ‘I love you’ to?”

She inhaled sharply.  Then, “Yup.  Yup, you’ve got it.”

“Did something happen with him?” Adrien asked, “Is that why you agreed to a blind date?”

“Kind of,” said Marinette, “He…  I thought he was asking someone else out, so I… I kind of… I don’t know.  After I found out, was when Alya suggested, well, _this._ ”

No, no, wait.  If he had actually asked someone else out, maybe Marinette-

\--

“ _Thought_ he was asking someone else out?” said Adrien, “You say that like… like he didn’t?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “I don’t think he did.”

“Did he… Did he ask you out?”

“No.”

“So… He didn’t actually ask anyone out.”

“No.  I thought he was going to, but then…” _But then he showed up on a date with me, without knowing he was going to._   “I don’t know,” she said.

But, wait…  If Adrien _hadn’t_ asked out Kagami, and had accepted a blind date, then she still had…

A chance?  A chance, when he so eagerly denied responsibility for this date?  A chance, when he’d suggested that they _fake_ having a real date, as a joke on their friends?

Right.  ‘A chance.’  A chance to salvage things with her _friend_.

If she stayed any longer, she was going to forget that this was fake.  She was going to… She didn’t know.  She was going to try something stupid, something she’d regret.

There was no choice.

“I have to go,” she said.  She pulled out a small set of bills from what Alya had given her, “This should cover my bill.”

“Go?  Why?” Said Adrien, clearly worried, in a way that hurt more than she should have let it.

She tried to smile, but she knew that most of it was sadness.  “I can’t do this anymore.”

And with that, she walked away, trying to stifle the tears.

She didn’t look back.  She didn’t see the shock on his face, or the way his breathing had gone soft and shaky.

She didn’t hear him hastily waving over the waitress to pay the bill, didn’t see him trying to follow her.  She was already out the door by then, looking for the next step to get somewhere else; _anywhere_ away from the boy who’s mere presence was a dagger in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alya? Nino? Bad plan.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien learns the truth. Someone is extremely frustrated by developments.

The dark sunglasses might have been overkill, especially inside, but Alya was a sucker for the full secret agent aesthetic.  Right now, though, the name of the game was less ‘Stealth’ and more ‘Oh God What Just Happened Abort Stealth Abort Stealth What Why Stop No No No.’

As soon as she’d recovered her presence of mind from Marinette abruptly leaving, she’d _chugged_ what was left in her cup, and after a second, Nino seemed to get the idea.

“C’mon, c’mon,” she said, more to herself than the waitress, as she waved to get her attention.

But she had to dispose of Adrien’s and Marinette’s dishes.  There was no time.  Adrien was already outside, and Marinette had been ahead of him.

\--

The perfect target to finally defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir.  A young man, scorned in love.  Whoever he was, he would be _easy prey_ for one of his devilish Akumas.

“Fly away, and evilize him!”

\--

The waitress finally came over, trying to hide her annoyance at their insistence.

“Check please,” said Alya, and then, with a glance at the door, “Actually, just take this,” and shoving a good deal more money than the tab into the woman’s hand, she bolted for the door, hauling Nino, who only had time for a short ‘Sorry,’ after her.

The waitress looked down.

Well.  They had paid and left a truly handsome tip.  Better than most customers in a hurry.

She shrugged.  It wasn’t a check, but she could work with it.

\--

The Akuma was close, now.  All he needed to complete this villain, was the perfect name, and what made a name better than simplicity?

\--

They were outside, and _there,_ standing on the sidewalk, leaned heavily on a parked car, was Adrien.

Nino sucked in a breath.  He was definitely crying.

Alya might usually have been the quick one off the mark, but Adrien was _his_ best friend.  He slipped past Alya, and practically ran up to Adrien.

“Dude!  What happened?”

His breathing was shaky, as he managed to choke out, “I can’t do this anymore.  I couldn’t before, but now it’s too much to even pretend that I-“

“Nino,” said Alya, urgently, “Explain everything, _now_.”

“Wha-“ he said, but she was already bolting past him, past _Adrien_ standing between two parked cars.  There was a strange, grinding sound.

\--

_“Heartbreak, I… Who are you.”_

“Alya Cesaire,” she growled, through gritted teeth.  “and I don’t take kindly to people taking advantage of my friends.”

The butterfly tried to leave her, but _that_ wasn’t happening any time soon.

\--

“Listen, dude,” said Nino, his voice lower and more serious than Adrien was used to, “It’s not my fault that Alya’s a genius, okay?  She figured out that you liked Marinette, and she already knew that Marinette liked you.  Okay?  Marinette _likes_ you.  Like, _like_ liked you since before I was together with Alya.  Like, since the beginning of the year.  We thought it’d be more fun if you two figured it out yourself,” he hesitated, “but I guess that didn’t work.”

Adrien looked up, “What?  Marinette doesn’t… But she…  No, I don’t know _why_ Alya thought that she-

\--

Marinette _didn’t_ like him.  Who would talk to their crush, _about their crush_ -

 _“After the first date, I realized I had to see you again because I’d suddenly developed a crush on you.”_ _He’d_ said that.  He’d-

Wait.

“ _Alya kept trying to get us together because I’d had a crush on you since the beginning of the school year.”_ And what had Nino _just_ said?  _“_ Marinette _likes_ you. Since the beginning of the year _.”_ It could have been a coincidence, right?  He hadn’t-

No.  No no no no no no NO.

 _“He didn’t understand that I meant it,”_ she’d said.  She’d thought the mystery-boy had asked someone else out, because he, _Adrien,_ said he was going to.  She’d thought he’d denied responsibility for the date because he _didn’t like her_.  She’d been exactly where _he_ was; no _wonder_ she’d wanted out. 

She hadn’t pulled away when their hands had touched.  She’d been willing to take his?  The fact that Nino and Alya had collaborated, how had he missed that?  Why _wouldn’t_ Alya know exactly how Marinette felt?

Marinette stumbled over her words when she talked to him.  _Marinette_ , the indisputably bravest member of his class.  Chloe didn’t even _phase_ her, but talking to _him._   Every oddity he’d waved away suddenly sounded so made much more sense when he thought back.  And, then, he suddenly became aware that trying to make out tiny constellations, when the sun was rising…

Because, if all of that was true, then when she’d said-

\--

Nino stood there, watching Adrien’s expression slowly shift.  The heartbreak had vanished quickly as he’d been too busy thinking, then his face had suddenly turned bright red, and he’d looked around, as if searching for something.  Then, his head had snapped upright, eyes wide, mouth wide, and he practically jumped to his feet.

“I ruined everything,” he said, “She had a crush on me, and I…” he didn’t finish the thought.

\--

Despite her best efforts, the butterfly had escaped her.

Alya was bent double.

Hawkmoth’s last words still rang in her ears.  _“You may have delayed me too long for me to reach him, but I sense another, just as heartbroken.”_

She had an intense suspicion she knew _exactly_ who Hawkmoth was after, and if she wasn’t wrong, she had the only person who could help her in time.  She spun to face Adrien, “Hawkmoth’s after Marinette.”

“What!?”

She pulled out her phone, and a few taps later, “but I know where she is.  Listen to me Adrien, do you want her to turn into a villain?”

“Wh- No!  Of course not!”

Alya let out a grin, exhausted, but not out of the fight yet. “Then you better be ready to run, lover-boy.”

\--

Hawkmoth didn’t like being thwarted, especially by a random civilian (Although, actually, that one had looked familiar…  No matter.)  but he was too determined too let something that simple stop him from an attempt on the Miraculouses of his enemies.  There was another nearby, someone who could easily take the young man’s place.

The butterfly flapped away.

He saw the buildings of Paris slowly pass by beneath him.  The new target wasn’t even too far out of his way, which meant that barely a minute later, the butterfly passed over one more building, and…

There, on the bridge, the unmistakable sensation of another’s pain and heartbreak.  Perfect, all he had to do was-

Another figure bolted forward, his hair, all Hawkmoth could make out, a golden blond.

“Marinette!” called the figure, “I need to tell you something!”

Hawkmoth choked, because that was Adrien Agreste, and _what was he doing out this late at night without his bodyguard, and how was he supposed to create a villain when-_

Hawkmoth put his hands to his face.  Thwarted by a random civilian and then his own son showed up, ruining any chance that he had left.  It was bad enough when Paris’ ‘heroes’ stopped him, but to see random civilians… Well, anyway.

Even if this girl, Marinette… He remembered the name, and… The hat, the hat she’d won a design contest with.  A promising young designer.

Her design skills didn’t matter, right now; the point was that if Adrien was here, he couldn’t create an villain.

Still… It wasn’t a total loss, because she seemed in a _great deal_ more pain since Adrien had shown up, and if she was still heartbroken when he left…

Suffice to say, Hawkmoth made deadlier villains when he was in a bad mood, and when his targets were truly devastated.  Tonight, barring anything remarkable, would be one of his best.

And so, he waited, feeling the pain mount, and wished he could hear _exactly_ what his son was saying to this promising potential future intern that seemed to be killing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, that Hawkmoth. Ain't he great, folks?


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quite a night they're having, isn't it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all ready for this?

She was standing on the bridge, leaned on the rail, staring down the river.

“Marinette!” he called, “I need to tell you something!

She turned to face him.

“Adrien?” she asked, staring at him.

He bent forward, breathing hard, “I need to talk to you.”

Her face was oddly blank, and she, at least, didn’t look like she’d been crying.  That was a good thing, right?

“Is something wrong?” she asked.  “Actually, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you find me?”

He straightened up.  “Alya knew you were here.”

“Hm,” she said, with a light smile, “Alya’s a great friend, but I think she might have gone a bit far with tracking my phone.  Well, I suppose she’s right; it _would_ help to find me in an emergency.”

“And I think this _is_ an emergency.”

“Really?” she asked, “Why?”

“Well…  Alya said she thought Hawkmoth would be after you.”

“Really?” said Marinette, “well, he hasn’t got me yet.”

Adrien paused.  Something was wrong, but he couldn’t…

It was how she was talking to him.  She sounded… Not older, but less alive.  Her voice was smooth and even, her expressions muted.  She hadn’t stammered once.

\--

“Marinette, are you okay?” he asked.

“Of course,” she lied, with a light smile.

“You kind of scared me, and, well, Nino and Alya too, running off like that.”

She shrugged, “Sorry, I just discovered that I really don’t like fake dates, and didn’t manage to say it properly before leaving.  I’m feeling much better, now.”  Better at hiding the pain, at least, and really, what else could she hope for.

“I-“he shook his head, “I’ve gotten off topic.  That wasn’t what I needed to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” she said.

“Well, not off topic,” he said, shaking his head as if confused, “more like… I wasn’t saying what I wanted to.”

“It’s alright, Adrien,” she said, smiling, “don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t _stop_ worrying about it,” he said, “if I stop worrying about it, I…  I’m still not saying what I wanted to.  You weren’t kidding.”

“About what?”

“About…” Adrien seemed to be stuck on something.

“You were asking if I was okay.  Are you sure _you’re_ okay?”

He smiled, almost pained.  “No.  And, if anything I’ve learned tonight is true, neither are you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, “I was a bit bothered by having to fake my way through a date, that’s all.  And I’m not now, so I’m feeling great!”

“Look,” he said, “I…”  He sighed.  “I admit it, I understand what you were talking about, now.”

“When?” she asked.

“When you…  Alright,” he looked up.  “Marinette.  I need some help.”

“Okay, I’d be glad to help!  What’s wrong.”

“I need some relationship advice.”

\--

“You need a lot of that, don’t you.”

He laughed.  “Yeah.  It’s… It’s something I guarantee you should know.  Just, something I can’t seem to remember.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

“I can’t remember how to tell someone I love them.  I knew it.”

She laughed.  “Come on, Adrien, all you say is ‘I love you.”

“I love you,” he repeated, not hearing the words.  The easy way she said it was wrong.

“Right.  Right,” he said, nodding as if she’d just explained a complex problem.  “Now I remember, and if I wanted to say it personally, I would say… I love you, Marinette.”

She smiled, wide, “There you go.”

He took a breath, “I love you, Marinette.”

“You’re getting it.”

He stepped forward, “But you’re not.”

He could see the flicker in her expression, but she cocked her head to the side, and just said, “Oh?”

“You’re not getting it, because, I really _do._   You were right that it’s nearly impossible to say it for real, but I can’t not say it,” he was crying, now, even more than he had been back by the café, his legs almost giving out underneath him.  “I can’t not say it.  I love you, Marinette.”

\--

“Adrien…” she said, her expression of polite curiosity faltering, “you don’t have to.”  She’d been so close.  She’d had it under control, locked down somewhere it couldn’t hurt her, and now?

He let out a groan that nearly stopped her heart, but that was fine, because she’d been trying to stop it anyway.

“I do have to say it.  If I didn’t, I’d be lying, and I never want to lie to you.  I’ve only known there was something to lie about for a few days, but I never want to again.”

She couldn’t keep her face even, as she looked at him.  Her crush, the boy she’d loved since the beginning of the year, and she’d left him in such a state, terrified of her rejecting him; _her,_ rejecting _him._ The pain from before was back, but this time it wasn’t just pain; it was anger, at seeing him this way.  He _needed_ to be okay.

She took a deep breath.

“Say it, one more time,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

His face was a mess as he looked back up and met her eyes. 

“I love you, Marinette.”

She laughed, crying again, now, “I love you too, Adrien.  C’mon,” and she pulled him into a hug.

Her face had been burning, and as he returned the gesture, _everything_ seemed to burn.  Her whole body was on fire, but right now, she couldn’t have cared less.

“You know,” she said, voice shaky, “I think this means I’m a better liar than you, because I kept that secret since the start of the year.”

“Nino said,” said Adrien, “I thought you must have hated me, with the gum, and the everything, and then I laughed when the umbrella fell on you, and-

“Adrien,” she said, gently, “Adrien!  It’s okay.”

\--

He didn’t know what he’d been saying. He didn’t care, either.  He could have told her he was Chat Noir, and it wouldn’t have mattered to him, because she was _here,_ in his arms, and she _wanted_ to be here.

His hand reached up and scratched gently at the back of her head.  “I love you so much,” he said, “even before I wanted to admit it, I still loved you.”

“I know,” she said, “I wanted to tell you, too.  So many times, you were right there, and I choked on the words.  And then,” she laughed, “I managed to say it, and you didn’t even realize that I meant it.”

“Sorry,” he said, “I know you mean it, now.”

“I know,” she said, “and I’m not going to let you forget,” her head, already near the side of his, shifted, slightly, and then, in a whisper, she said the words he'd been waiting for...

And once again, time passed, and they were lost, standing, swaying, in a hazy point between joy and tears.

…

…

…

…

…

\--

They stood there.

“Pound it,” said Nino.

Alya did.

There was a long pause.

“Not bad for a few days’ work,” said Alya.

“True.  True.”

A long pause.

“Can you imagine,” said Nino, smiling softly, “what if they still didn’t believe-

“Don’t even say it,” said Alya, vehemently, "I'd be forced to just, I don't know, shove their heads together until they've kissed long enough to  _know_ that-

_…_

_…_

_…_

\--

Gabriel Agreste was back in the house proper.  He’d decided that, after that, he _really_ didn’t have it in him for a villain tonight.

There was no photo-evidence to suggest he’d know where Adrien had been, and his door was locked, so he couldn’t say he’d entered to an empty room, but at least he’d kept the _front door_ locked, so when Adrien returned, he’d have to admit to what he’d done.

It seemed fair recompense for him, after sneaking out like that, and, from what he’d seen, apparently _going on a date._

Gabriel finished up another design; just enough that he almost felt like he’d accomplished something worthwhile tonight.

He walked up to his room, and had suddenly realized that if Adrien was even supposed to get in tonight, someone needed to be awake to open the door, and he certainly wasn’t going to make Adrien sleep outside; illicit date or not, that would be too much-

He heard a laugh, from down the hallway.

From Adrien’s room.

He stepped closer, closer, and putting his ear up to the door, heard the tapping of a phone’s keys.

He knocked on the door.

“Yes?” said Adrien.

He opened the door.

“Adrien, what…” what was he supposed to say, ‘What are you doing in your room?’  He was _supposed_ to be in his room, why would he have thought otherwise?  He couldn’t very well say ‘I saw you through my Akuma as you stopped me from turning your friend into a villain.’

“…is the status of your homework?” he said, trying to salvage the hesitation as a dramatic pause.

“I…” he said, scratching the back of his neck, “I kind of procrastinated on it.”

“Hm.”

“But I’ll get it done!” he said, quickly, “after all, it’s my fault it’s not done _already.”_

He nodded, slowly.  “An appropriate response.  Well done, Adrien.”

And he walked out, still confused, still unable to do anything about it.

\--

As he closed the door, Adrien waited a second.  Then, he let out a sigh.  He was right, of course; he _did_ need to do his homework.  He pulled out a pencil, and then smiled at his phone.

_One unread message_

 

He reached over and unlocked his phone

_Marinette:  I love you too <3_

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, your comments have been intensely gratifying. (And also anomalous; seriously, I've never gotten this many comments before) One of you might even notice (I'm looking at you, Lexysama) that your comment found a way into the chapter.  
> Anyway, I hope your frustrations have been appropriately paid off. Frustration INC. can only keep you in suspense for so long, I'm afraid.
> 
> Finally, if you want some more extremely frustrating fanfiction and you've got a head for longer works, you can check out French Vanilla, one of my other fics, which I was informed 'made someone want to bang their head against a wall in frustration,' a quote that I will milk for all it is worth, thank you Grace. French Vanilla also doubles as a reveal fic, and, as such, makes use of their hero identities, which were missing here.

**Author's Note:**

> A work by Frustration INC.  
> For when you absolutely cannot be allowed satisfaction, at any cost.


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